The Five Stages
by stephyswan
Summary: The five stages, denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance are a part of the framework that makes up our learning to live with the one we lost.
1. Juliette

**"The five stages, denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance are a part of the framework that makes up our learning to live with the one we lost. They are tools to help us frame and identify what we may be feeling. But they are not stops on some linear timeline in grief. Not everyone goes through all of them or in a prescribed order. Our hope is that with these stages comes the knowledge of grief 's terrain, making us better equipped to cope with life and loss. At times, people in grief will often report more stages. Just remember your grief is an unique as you are."**

 _Denial is the first of the five stages of grief. It helps us to survive the loss. In this stage, the world becomes meaningless and overwhelming. Life makes no sense. We are in a state of shock and denial. We go numb. We wonder how we can go on, if we can go on, why we should go on. We try to find a way to simply get through each day. Denial and shock help us to cope and make survival possible. Denial helps us to pace our feelings of grief. There is a grace in denial. It is nature's way of letting in only as much as we can handle. As you accept the reality of the loss and start to ask yourself questions, you are unknowingly beginning the healing process. You are becoming stronger, and the denial is beginning to fade. But as you proceed, all the feelings you were denying begin to surface._

- _On Grief and Grieving_

"Your trauma patient from last night is in the ICU." The nurse whispered to the doctor. Juliette peered in, trying to get any more info. She had the feeling...

"I'm sorry to have to cut this short, but I have to go." The doctor said, getting out of her chair and rushing out of the room, down the hall, to try and save a life.

Juliette felt her heart drop in her stomach. Rayna. Her hero. Her hero was dying. She turned to her husband, who didn't seem to have caught onto the drift.

"She's talking about Rayna."

Juliette had never run so fast (well, hobbled) in her life. These damn crutches were too damn slow. She needed to get there. She _needed_ to.

"Juliette... stop going so fast!" Avery chased after her. Juliette growled. "Here, take these." She said, thrusting her crutches at her husband.

Her husband didn't understand. He didn't know Rayna like Juliette had.

Juliette's heart broke the moment she stood in the doorway. Everyone she knew was standing in there, looking sadly at the physical vestige of the one and only country queen. She was gone. Her body was still there, beeping to the sound of the machines, but she, herself, was gone.

Juliette numbly made her way to Deacon, giving him a hug. "How is she?" She asked, even though she pretty much knew the answer.

"It's not good." He let out.

Juliette felt the sudden urge to do it. She had to do it. She broke out of Deacon's hold, and hobbled to the other side of the bed. She ignored their protests as she removed the hair from Rayna's face, bending down to give her a kiss on the forehead.

"All I ever wanted was for you to be proud of me." She whispered.

Rayna was dead.

Rayna Jaymes, the woman Juliette Barnes had looked up to for her whole life, in her sparkly dresses, skinny jeans, and cowboy boots, was dead. Gone. Passed away. Never again to be seen breathing. Laughing. Smiling.

Singing.

Sometime after they all had left, the little line that was supposed to match her heartbeat turned into a straight one, followed by a long beep.

As much as Juliette tried to deny it, she loved that woman. She was the most put together, accomplished, and caring person she had ever met.

Juliette wished she was her.

At least, she used to.

Hell, she was her for a short while after that plane crash.

But for some reason, she came back.

Juliette had been in a near death accident too. But for some odd reason, almighty God had decided she was good enough. If Juliette got a second chance, then why didn't Rayna?

Maybe they had used all their luck. The whole lot of them. Rayna and Deacon's car crash, Deacon's cancer, her plane crash... it all added up, didn't it?

The first time they had met, Juliette had been in absolute shock. Through her whole fucked up childhood, Rayna had been there for her. She was the reason Juliette had become a singer.

Maybe she wasn't dead. Maybe it was just all a big nightmare- a sick, fucked up nightmare- and she would wake up and Rayna would be sitting in that Highway 65 Office in her fancy chair or standing in her kitchen with her girls.

Her girls.

Her now motherless girls.

She didn't know how to function. Realistically, she knew that Rayna was only someone she got to see every once in a while these days. She has a record label, a thank god still surviving marriage...

Correction: she _had_ those things.

Juliette felt shock, sadness, and above all that, guilt. She had treated Rayna like crap since the moment they had met.

 _"My mama used to listen to you when I was in her belly."_

Seriously? Is that the way you greet country royalty? No. Not at all. No wonder she thought I was a damn bitch. But somehow, after that point, Rayna had taken a liking to her. She cared. She cared. She cared when it seemed like no one else did.

 _"I wasn't good enough."_

 _"You're good enough."_

She was there for Juliette through everything. When her mother died, when she needed a label, when she was pregnant, and after that too. She flew across the country to see if Juliette had been okay.

 _"I think you're the only one who understands this."_

What had Juliette done? Turned her away.

 _"You break my heart, girl_."

But after that, Juliette had had a revelation. Yes, it took her a hell of a long time to get there. Rayna was pissed at her for taking Maddie onto that stage and starting a whole legal war (even though Rayna claimed it was not her fault and that she did not blame her). But slowly they made back to their old ways. Friends. Frenemies. Whatever you wanted to call them. All she knew was that if Rayna needed her, she would do a hell of a job to get there, and Rayna would no doubt do the same.

 _"We're going to do what you said. We are going to get up on that stage and kick ass. And I'm going to have your back like you had mine."_

 _"I'm here for you." Rayna had said when she had oh so recently gotten herself almost killed when she fell out of the sky._

 _"I know." Juliette had responded, feeling hopeless, but hearing Rayna tell her she could get out of the chair was probably the thing that had her up and about._

It was certainly the thing that had her off the crutches.

She had _walked_ for Rayna.

She attended the funeral, the same people who were at the hospital plus a few notable others who had not been able to make it there in time. She watched as they slowly lowered her six feet under.

'It could have been me', the voice in her head argued.' It could have been me being lowered into the ground after that plane crash...'

The rain came down over them. Juliette took a deep breath in, looking at all the trees around them. She stopped, looking at the birds flock out of the trees and into the sky... flying away.

Yeah, Rayna was there alright, watching over them.

Maybe she was proud after all.

Juliette felt sick. There was no way she should be the one to sing Rayna's tribute. Don't get her wrong, she was definitely closer to Rayna than Faith Hill would ever be, but there was definitely someone else who could do it more justice.

Maddie walked into the dressing room. She looked miserable. Not that Juliette expected anything more.

"I want you to sing the song." She declared, looking at the distraught teenager.

"What? You're singing it! My mother would love that!" Maddie rolled her eyes. She was not in the mood for any public appearances. She had been a bitch, and her mother had died.

"No she wouldn't!" Juliette laughed in response. "It would definitely mean a hell of a lot more if it came from you."

"Okay." Maddie eventually agreed.

"When I was a little girl in the trailer park, I heard the sweet sound of Rayna's voice for the very first time. I wanted to be just like her. I am so, so thankful for the time we had together. And now, to sing this tribute to Rayna, I give you, Rayna's daughter, Maddie Conrad."

Juliette hugged her, before making her way into the wing.

Maddie started and broke down after seeing the picture of her and her mother. It was gut wrenching to watch. Maybe putting Maddie out there was not the greatest idea. She was prepared to go out there and comfort her when Deacon and Daphne also came up to the stage.

And they finished the song.

Juliette smiled, looking at the picture of the two of them blown up on the screen. It was indeed the Wrong Song. They could have written so many songs together. So many songs. Juliette was sad that Rayna would never see Cadence grow up. She had, although never admitting it, wanted Rayna to be her godmother and Deacon to be her godfather. In all of her holy revelation, it was what she had wanted to do.

But never got to.

'I hope you're watching this Rayna.' She thought, smiling at the pictures of her blown up on the screen. She believed it with all of her being that Rayna was there tonight. She was.

She knew it.

Juliette made her way back to the dressing room, collapsing herself into the couch. She lazily threw off her heals. She looked up at the poster she had just put up.

Her and Rayna singing the Wrong Song.

It was going to stay there as long as she could manage. And there would be a picture of her on the mantel at home if she could manage it. She would get her own bejeweled rosary and candle! Juliette smiled at the thought. Maybe she could get little cowboy boots to go with it!

"I was proud of you, you know."

Juliette looked up, and her heart stopped.

Right in front of her was none other than the Queen of Country, wearing all white. Her beautiful flowing locks shined under the lights, waving down the mid length of her back. She was dressed in a long, flowing white dress. Her smile radiated the room.

Like an angel.

"You've changed so much. And I'm not just saying that because there is a halo floating above my head. I'm so proud of you. I can't wait to see what you do with this gospel album. It's going to be your greatest album yet. And think of how good it will be for Highway 65!" Rayna smiled, looking down at Juliette, whose mouth had dropped open.

"You're here...?" Juliette let out, staring at her. "Are you real? Am I under the influence? Because listen to me, I have not touched a drink or pill-"

"Juliette." Rayna growled, cutting her off. "We don't have much time. I just, I heard you when you said all you wanted was for me to be proud. Sorry for the delayed response, by the way. I am really really proud. You are going to do great things. And you are going to be a terrific mother. And you're going to be there for Deacon, and you are going to be the big sister to my girls that they need right now."

"If I'm the girls' big sister, wouldn't that make me-"

"My daughter." Rayna smiled. "Yeah. You practically were! I had to chase you around all the time and make sure you didn't do anything stupid!" Her smiled faded. "I'm sorry we didn't get to spend more time together. We would have written another couple of number one hits."

Juliette smiled. "Yeah... those girls need you. I need you."

"I'll always be here, whether or not you can see me. Just, um, dedicate your gospel album to me! Haha! You could call it, "The Jesus Songs, a tribute to the Queen of Country."

Juliette laughed, then sighed. "I'm gonna miss having you to keep me in line."

"Don't worry. I'll still keep you in line. I got more power than you think! Over here, on the other side! Hello from the other side!" Rayna sang, surprisingly more in tune than usual.

"Sure you do." Juliette said, the smile on her face still apparent.

"I'm afraid my time is up. Do good, Juliette." Rayna said, before turning around and walked through the wall, her white light fading as she took her steps.

"Bye Rayna..." Juliette whispered.

...bye _mom_...

 **Juliette kissing her when she was dying was the part that had me in tears. Their relationship was the best one of the show! There was so much left unsaid between them. They practically were mother and daughter. They won't get to sing together ever again...**

 **I am doing one character per chapter... Scarlett, Daphne, Maddie, and then Deacon. They all get to have their last words with Rayna, and then maybe the story will have an epilogue. So in total, five or six parts.**

 **Yes I know I am not using exact quotes from the show but I'm too lazy so I will just paraphrase them.**

 **I do not own Nashville or CMT, because if I did I would have hit Connie Britton on the head and screamed 'don't you dare leave me!'**


	2. Scarlett

_Anger is a necessary stage of the healing process. Be willing to feel your anger, even though it may seem endless. The more you truly feel it, the more it will begin to dissipate and the more you will heal. There are many other emotions under the anger and you will get to them in time, but anger is the emotion we are most used to managing. The truth is that anger has no limits. It can extend not only to your friends, the doctors, your family, yourself and your loved one who died, but also to God. You may ask, "Where is God in this? Underneath anger is pain, your pain. It is natural to feel deserted and abandoned, but we live in a society that fears anger. Anger is strength and it can be an anchor, giving temporary structure to the nothingness of loss. At first grief feels like being lost at sea: no connection to anything. Then you get angry at someone, maybe a person who didn't attend the funeral, maybe a person who isn't around, maybe a person who is different now that your loved one has died. Suddenly you have a structure – – your anger toward them. The anger becomes a bridge over the open sea, a connection from you to them. It is something to hold onto; and a connection made from the strength of anger feels better than usually know more about suppressing anger than feeling it. The anger is just another indication of the intensity of your love._

\- On Grief and Grieving-

The minute that her Uncle Deacon had finally ended up with his one true love, she had to get into a car crash and die.

And he was back at the bottom.

He had just started to believe that he could have a happy ending. That he deserved it. He always had it deep down inside him that he didn't deserve those things, and it was not true at all. All people deserved that. And even though he thought it, her uncle was not a bad guy. Maybe he was a 'violent' guy when he drank, but he was not a 'bad' guy. He was Scarlett's hero, he was Maddie's hero, he was Daphne's hero...

He was Rayna's freaking knight in shining armor.

Not that she needed a knight in shining silver gleam. She had always done things for herself, well, sort of. She made her own decisions, especially when it came to Deacon. But Scarlett did not have the right to judge that. Because Rayna had been nothin' but sweet to her since the day they met.

 _"If you ever need anything, you let me know. We're family."_

She had given Scarlett a voice. Well, she gave her the opportunity to show her voice to the world. And that had obviously not ended well when Rayna had suggested she do it without Gunnar.

Huh. Gunnar.

"We get to choose who we love because we deserve it."

She personally thought that Rayna 'shipped' her and Gunnar. But of course, she was not going to flat out say it. The two of them had been talking about that a lot lately, her adventures with the hot music video director, whether or not Gunnar was the one for her...

No matter what, she always found herself inspired by Deacon and Rayna's story. Because no matter how many times the two of them had found obstacles in their way, they always got through them.

Except this time.

She had written countless songs about them. They were just so magical. So passionate. It was the kind of stuff country music was created for.

She had stayed strong... ish.

When Rayna had first flatlined, she had stood under the arm of Gunnar, crying. Rayna was the voice of Nashville. Scarlett did not ever imagine her dying so soon. She had not even been married for a year. She had always been there, Rayna. She cared so much, about everybody. She was the mother superior of all that is Nashville.

She knew Juliette secretly adored her, her girls adored her, Deacon adored her, Gunnar adored her...

She adored her...

 _"Hey hey hey, c'mere, c'mere, c'mere..." Rayna had chased after her into that field. She was terrified... of her mother and of being restrained to that bed. One mistake that probably cost her career that she hadn't wanted in the first place. But that's besides the point._

 _"I'm not crazy," she argued. She knew she wasn't crazy. She was not an alcoholic like her uncle and she certainly was not her mother. That didn't go to say that she didn't love them both to death, because she did._

 _"I know you're not. But standing out here is not helping your case." Rayna had said, wrapping an arm around her and leading her back in. Later her Uncle Deacon would tell her that Rayna had gotten into a fight about Rayna trying to 'mother her child'. She was slightly concerned by this; she did not want her mother to feel like she was less than that. Because her mother was her mother and nothing could change that._

Rayna was her 'aunt', 'family'... but she was not her mother. She was a second mother. The day she had led her out of that field and wrapped an arm around her, Scarlett felt a warmth she had never felt before. It was the sort of warmth her mother had always lacked. Hence, Rayna meant the world to her.

Scarlett did love her. Because Rayna had loved all of them like family. They were all, in essence, one big family. Rayna, Deacon, the girls, Gunnar, Will, Avery, even Juliette. She didn't know how any of them were going to function. She had to be strong for them.

 _That would be why, after the funeral, she shuffled around Rayna's mansion in Belle Meade, trying to offer the people that followed through food. She offered her condolences to Tandy, who was not hiding how she felt about her sister's death. She held Daphne as she cried._

 _She had to be strong. She had to be strong for her cousins. She needed to be that older sister, caring mentor, wise female..._

She lost it. She lost it in the hallway. She collapsed there. Rayna was amazing. So so amazing. Why did she have to die? Why her, rather than any other person in the world who deserved it? First her mother, then her aunt, her uncle's cancer, these guys could never catch a break!

Rayna was family. Always had been, always would be.

 _"Deacon, I have to leave her here." Beverly shuffled in with the pretty little blonde with the long hair in her arms. "I have plans tonight, and I..."_

 _"Bev-" Deacon started, looking at his sister as she shuffled towards him, handing her his niece and the baby bag._

 _"She misses her Uncle Deacon. What's wrong with that?"_

 _"It's wrong because you can't keep dumping here on me! I have plans, I have people..."_

 _"Your family is way more important than that rich kid you picked up from Belle Meade."_

 _Deacon did not want to argue with her, hell of course he wanted to argue with her, but that innocent little blonde did not deserve it. So he sucked it up, and held his arms out to take her. Beverly ran out, not wanting to have to see 'her'..._

 _"Uncle Deacon's got you." He said, a smile forming on his face. Holding the sweet little thing, he felt something he had never felt before. He did not know how to describe it._

 _The blonde tilted her head at him, holding his hand out to feel Deacon's scruffy face. She smiled at him. Deacon did not know how such an innocent sweet little thing could come from something so dark. Her sister and him had seen so much darkness. It confused him._

 _"Hey babe." Rayna said, walking down the hall with nothing but a robe on. " Are you ready to finish the-" she stopped short when she saw the little blonde. "Hey there."_

 _"Rayna, this is my niece Scarlett. Scarlett, this is Rayna." Scarlett's eyes widened at the young woman. Her hair was really pretty. She wasn't like her mommy, who screamed and screamed and drank that icky drink._

 _"Hi Scarlett." Rayna greeted, getting closer. She pulled her robe tighter as she went to sit next to Deacon. There was a certain glow, she noticed, in Deacon's eyes that she had never seen before. It was pride, it was love... Scarlett still sat on Deacon's lap, but she was now rotating her eyes between Deacon and Rayna. She didn't want to say anything, if she said something they might get mad, like Mommy did._

 _"Do you wanna sing a song with me?" Rayna asked, smiling at the little girl. "It will be fun." Scarlett shyly nodded. Deacon got his guitar from right next to him, strumming. Rayna held out her hand to the little girl. The little girl took it, her eyes glued on Ray Ray's pretty hair._

 _"This love ain't big enough..."_

 _"_ What are we going to do without you..? You're the glue that held us all together." Scarlett screamed, banging her head on the wall as she fell. "How could you do this to us!" She sobbed.

"Sorry. I guess I'm going to have to start all of my appearances with an apology. In my defense, it's not like I had much of a choice. I kind of died from injuries. Injuries that could not be fixed. You really would think that with all this fancy technology, I would have lived through this car crash." A voice growled, snorting a laugh as it went.

Scarlett looked up from her spot between her hands. She blinked several times to make sure she wasn't hallucinating. "This is not funny." She growled, looking at the ... whatever it was... in front of her. She did not know if it was a ghost, or angel, or just Scarlett's imagination. Nonetheless, she was still as pretty, if not prettier than the day Scarlett had met her, when she was four years old. She seemed angelic; she glowed.

Like an angel.

"We deserve to choose who we love." Rayna repeated. Scarlett's mind went haywire. Lyrics upon lyrics, words upon words started overflowing her brain. It was definitely inspiring. Maybe love does conquer death.

Love does conquers death. Love is so much stronger. It has the power to beat the eternity. Huh, song lyrics.

"I need you to be strong for them. They need you. And that baby inside of you needs you too." Rayna was saying. Scarlett forced herself to make eye contact when she heard the B word.

"What-" Scarlett's stomach formed into a knot. "How did you-"

"That baby's gonna have the best guardian angel ever." Rayna smiled at her. "Congratulations Scarlett."

Scarlett did not know what to say. The words that had a moment ago inspired her just threw her off a goddamn cliff. She was pregnant? What a perfect time, right? With an upcoming tour, as well as a family that needed her that was already on this Earth. What great timing!

"Who is the father?" Scarlett asked. Did angels know these things? Did they see these things? It happened before Rayna dead, assumingely, so she probably hadn't?

"I told you once, I'll tell you again. We deserve to choose who we love."

And she was gone.

Scarlett took a deep breath, getting off the floor. Gunnar walked into the hall just then, seeing the tears on her face, scooped her into his arms.

"Love conquers death," she mumbled under her breath. "Let's write one more song about Deacon and Rayna." She mumbled from his chest.

"Okay." He responded.

 **I loved the finale with the whole fam getting together! And uh, Connie COME BACK! Seeing all these pics without her make me really sad.**

 **Oh well, now we have to wait for Rayna's evil twin to show up. It probably will happen, seeing as this is Nashville we are talking about.**


	3. Maddie

_Before a loss, it seems like you will do anything if only your loved one would be spared. "Please God, " you bargain, "I will never be angry at my wife again if you'll just let her live." After a loss, bargaining may take the form of a temporary truce. "What if I devote the rest of my life to helping others. Then can I wake up and realize this has all been a bad dream?" We become lost in a maze of "If only..." or "What if..." statements. We want life returned to what is was; we want our loved one restored. We want to go back in time: find the tumor sooner, recognize the illness more quickly, stop the accident from happening...if only, if only, if only. Guilt is often bargaining's companion. The "if onlys" cause us to find fault in ourselves and what we "think" we could have done differently. We may even bargain with the pain. We will do anything not to feel the pain of this loss. We remain in the past, trying to negotiate our way out of the hurt. People often think of the stages as lasting weeks or months. They forget that the stages are responses to feelings that can last for minutes or hours as we flip in and out of one and then another. We do not enter and leave each individual stage in a linear fashion. We may feel one, then another and back again to the first one._

She should not have left the hospital. She should not have left the hospital. She did not get a proper chance to say goodbye to her mother. Her person. She had been there through everything. It was her job, as a mother. And she did the most amazing job she could have. There might have a point when Maddie would have disagreed, when she found out about Deacon, but now she didn't blame her. She had seen it all. She understood her mother's decision thoroughly.

Why had she caused so much trouble this past year? She had seen her mother cry as she took the stand in legal court. She was turning into a bitch, whether or not her sister would admit it to her. She didn't recognize herself anymore.

She watched as all of the people who had once known and admired the great Rayna Jaymes shuffled in and out of her house. She didn't understand why these people felt like they knew her. They didn't. They should just leave them alone.

Maddie was worried for her father. He had said little...

 _She was my north, my south, my east, my west. I thought that love would last forever. I was wrong._

She couldn't imagine it. She was the love of his life. They had been married for a couple months when Maddie had decided to wreck it for them. She sighed. Could she get away with hiding in her room?

The kitchen was the most painful place in the house. She kept expecting her mother to pop up from behind the counter and say it was all a big joke. She wouldn't, though. Her breathing had gone from waves to a flat line, right in front of them.

 _Sitting here tonight_

 _By the firelight_

 _It reminds me I have more than I should_

She had fallen in love with that song the first time she had heard it. She had just found out that Deacon was her father, and she wanted to hear every song he had ever written. She had listened to all of them, but when she found A Life That's Good, she knew she wanted to meet the guy.

 _"Deacon wrote A Life That's Good on a napkin ten minutes after meeting me."_

It was their family anthem. And yet, she couldn't even think of that song without bursting into tears. They had sang it to her, and her eyes had opened. She had seen them, blurred. That was the last thing she saw.

Last thing she heard.

"So, I know that I am not the most religious person on the planet." She started. "But I have to ask you. Why? Why did you feel the need to take the most amazing woman on this person off of it? You crashed a car into her! You tricked us and her into thinking that she was going to make it through. But she didn't. Is this your punishment for me? Because I was awful to her? Why didn't you take me instead? I'll be good from now on. I will lead Daphne in the right direction, and I will stop being such a bitch. Just... let this be a dream."

"It ain't a dream, honey."

She looked up from the ground to see Juliette and Scarlett standing in the doorway of her bedroom. Scarlett didn't hesitate in coming in. Juliette followed. "We just wanted to see how you were doing. You left Daphne down there alone. She needs you right now more than ever. Deacon needs you now more than ever."

The two of them sat next to her on the bed. "I know. I was just... her death. It was my fault, wasn't it?"

"What?" Juliette scoffed. "Maddie, you did not kill your mother. She died in a car crash."

"I was awful to her. That has got to have something to do with it."

"No. You were not awful. You came home to her. That's all she ever wanted. She might have been upset with your choices, but she never stopped loving you. She never blamed you."

Maddie was now feeling the tears going down her face. "I left her at the hospital, I should have stayed." Here came the sobbing. She couldn't stop it. Her mother was still gone.

"She knew you loved her. She loved you. She didn't die with anger. She died with regret. She left you. She left you and she couldn't do anything about it."

"I want to talk to her... one last time. And I'll never get to."

Both Scarlett and Juliette were thinking the same thing. That they had gotten the opportunity to have a last conversation with Rayna. If they had, there was no doubt that Maddie would too. Of course, they were not going to address it out loud. It sounded just a tad crazy.

"She's always here. Listening." Scarlett concluded.

It's after everyone leaves that she goes back upstairs to her bedroom and crashes on the bed. Daphne had fallen asleep on the couch, and Maddie didn't want to move her. She probably hadn't been getting that much sleep, none of them had. She was going to go back downstairs to keep her company as soon as she changed.

Her eyes met the photo of her and her mother on the dresser. It made her a little bit uncomfortable. Part of her would always blame herself. She'd never get a chance to say goodbye and tell her mom how sorry she was for everything.

"Honey, you have got to stop blaming yourself. You're going to torture yourself for the rest of your life and that is absolutely no way to live."

She could almost hear her mother's voice between her sobs.

"Honey, look at me."

It's when she decides to look up that her sobs explode even louder. Her mother was standing there. Bright lights. A beautiful white dress. Her hair flowing in the light behind her.

"You are the greatest thing I ever did. I love you so so much."

"Mom... I'm so sorry I-" her sobs took over as she violently shook, "I shouldn't have left home and I shouldn't have left the hospital."

"Baby girl, don't ever doubt for a second that I stopped loving you. Cause I never did and I never will. Take care of your sister, and take care of Daphne. I love you so much, sweet girl."

She's still sobbing loudly when her father walks in to find her on the ground in her own tears. "Mom..." she whimpers.

"I know, sweet girl, I know." Deacon responds, pulling her into his arms.


End file.
